


From one to another

by Hyfriancarousel



Series: Red shoes month 2020 [7]
Category: Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Birds, Curse Breaking, Deal with a Devil, Demon Deals, Demon Summoning, Drama, F/M, First Meetings, Fog, Forests, Humor, Occult, Promises, Shapeshifting, Slow Burn, Snow White - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25763644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyfriancarousel/pseuds/Hyfriancarousel
Summary: Snow White has been looking for her father ever since his disappearance.She's ready to do whatever it takes to get him back.
Relationships: Merlin/Snow White (Red Shoes and the 7 Dwarfs)
Series: Red shoes month 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1860025
Comments: 16
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I will make this a multi-chapter fic instead of leaving it as a oneshot. Look forward to more chapters in the future.

Nature had claimed back the land once used for farming. Living. Snow White pushed aside moss and leaves. Going to the deepest parts of the forest was only a good idea during bright daylight. So, she had left the second the sun started rising.

She kept picking leaves.

Ancient runes came into view. Carved into a stone, almost glimmering, but that was most likely the sun. She couldn’t read them. But, recognizing them from the picture she had attached to her map was not hard.

To call a spirit, you must first sacrifice a small bit of your life. Otherwise, they won’t have enough energy to break free from their bindings.

Snow White took a needle from her bag and pricked her finger, letting the drops of blood fall on the runes. She licked the cut before placing the needle back in her bag and stepping away. 

The drops of blood disappeared, as if the rock absorbed them. At once, the runes glowed, releasing what looked like smoke. It floated in the air, gathering together before forming something vaguely humanoid.

It sat on the rock, looking straight at her.

Snow White looked this new being up and down, trying to assess her thoughts.

“You’re...the demon?”

The form stared. 

It tilted its shadow head as if it didn’t have bones.

Well, it probably didn’t.

“Oh, I’m sorry, what were you expecting?” The form’s voice echoed. “Try being stuck in a rock for a thousand years.” 

Snow White shook her head.

“No, I just want to make sure that you are YOU.”

She corrected her posture.

“You’re the magician, correct?” 

She pointed at the form.

“The demonic one, cursed to be stuck within a rock for a thousand years for crimes no one remembers anymore?”

The shadow looked at her. It sighed, wailing like a lost bird or wind in the trees.

“My legacy is awful.”

Snow White stepped back to her earlier spot, closer to the rock.

“Aw, don’t say that.”

The form stopped wailing, staring straight at her.

Curious.

Snow White coughed.

“I need to make a deal with you.”

The shadowy form hummed.

Snow White looked around, trying to pinpoint it’s location, but it was so hazy it was hard to see. She felt a weight on her shoulders, two arms dangling against them. Or that’s what it felt like. She couldn’t see them, not even the shadow. 

The voice came from next to her ear.

“Are you sure you know what you’re saying?”

It picked a strand of her hair up, so she punched the air around the feeling. Her fist actually hit something. 

The form whined. Just a little.

“Ow, my unmaterialized nose...”

“Sorry!” Snow said. “We haven't made a deal yet and I...”

An echoing chuckle came from the shadow.

“I overstepped my boundaries.” 

The shadow nodded its head apologetically.

“I was trying to be ominous, but that failed.”

Snow White moved her arm, giving the shadow a cheerful smile.

“You’re still pretty ominous, being a shadow and all! I sure am scared!”

It wasn’t very convincing.

The form poked its shadow head, causing it to roll away from its body. Only placing it back after it’s expression had turned to a simple line.

“...You don’t need to cheer me up.”

Silence fell between them as they stared at each other. The form mumbled.

“...Where were we?”

Snow White cleared her throat.

“I need your power. I’ve tried everything to find my father, but he’s still missing.”

The form lied against the rock, cat-like with its hands under its chin.

"You'd sell your own soul for someone else?"

Snow White narrowed her eyes at it.

"Anything to find my father."

The shadow turned on its back.

"I like your determination."

It slid off the rock, turning into shapes. They floated closer to Snow White before stopping in place. Reconstructing that slightly humanoid form.

The details of its face were a bit easier to see up close, but they were still too hazy to completely recognize.

“The deal is this,” It said. “I help you find your father, and in return...you give me your soul.”

Snow White moved back as the form tried to touch her again.

“Isn’t freeing you enough of a prize?”

“Just making a deal is enough to free me.” The shadow tilted its head. “At least it should be.”

Snow White raised her eyebrows.

“And what if it isn’t?”

The shadow moved on the rock, eyeing Snow White through its hazy self. it’s expressions weren’t the clearest, but the feeling was there.

“...Touché.”

Snow White extended her hand to the shadow.

“I’ll get my father. You’ll get your freedom. Take it or leave it.”

The form moved in front of her, fading in and out of existence. Letting its limbs fall apart and re-attach themselves at will.

Snow White shivered. The same weight that was once on her shoulders was now against her hand.

The shadow shook it.

"Deal."

The form in front of her gained matter. Like a silk canvas painting, it's form became more concrete, filling with colors.

Brown hair.

Long, blue coat.

Brown eyes, gleaming golden in the sun.

Snow White let go first.

She looked at her hand. An unknown mark had appeared on her wrist, parading its glow. The now not-so-shadow-like person smirked at her.

He bowed.

“Merlin, at your service.”


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm free!”

Merlin stretched every part of his body as he kept hopping from stone to stone. Even trees weren't safe. He jumped over the roots and did some pull-ups on their branches. 

The forest floor and sky were perfect for getting used to being matter again, instead of just smoke. You move differently, walk differently. It was like he was slowly remembering how he used to be.

Besides, exercise is good for you.

Snow White kept walking forward, not waiting for Merlin. Yet he kept up with her perfectly, perhaps without meaning to. Demons are more nimble than humans could ever be. It made them dangerous to be around.

But at this point, he was just showing off. 

Snow White looked at her partner as she came to a stop.

"Are you done?" She said.

"Almost." 

Merlin stretched his sides, taking advantage of shrouded yet open space. He raised his hands towards the sky.

And started doing cartwheels.

“Oh, it feels so good to be ME!”

He swung past Snow White who just raised her brows. Her expression stayed neutral. 

Perhaps the magician was just so taken by his freedom; he had forgotten why it was granted to him in the first place.

“We need to get going," Snow White said.

“What’s the rush?” Merlin stopped at a handstand, staring at Snow White. “Finding your father will be a flash with me on your side.”

So he did actually remember. That was good. Maybe his head wasn't constantly in the clouds.

Merlin tilted his head, smirked, and pulled his left arm off the ground.

“One hand. Impressive, right?”

Snow White stared. She raised her head, took a hold of the straps of the backpack and walked right past him without a word. Yellow eyes glanced at her as Merlin’s smile fell. He bounced himself back on his feet, dusting off his hands.

“Well, that’s nothing,” He mumbled to himself. “I can do better.”

He dashed to Snow White, catching up to her. He slowed down his speed to match her pace, as if he had walked with her all this time.

“A LOT better.” He gestured to himself, that self-righteous smirk returning on his face. “I AM a magician. You’ll be impressed yet, miss...”

He let his mouth hang open, missing the last words to his sentence. He stroked his chin.

Strange.

"Actually,” He moved his fingers to the bottom of his lips. “I don't think I ever caught your name." 

Snow White kept looking forward. Ignoring him. A common tactic. 

It was a double-edged sword. The person will either quiet down or push you harder.

The demon really loved to talk. A little too much. So she hoped for outcome number one.

Merlin looked around, waiting for an answer. He leaned closer.

"Well? Are you going to introduce yourself to me?”

He placed his hand on his chest.

Snow White sighed.

Outcome number two after all.

“I guess you DID tell me your name,” She said. ”So, Um...Sno-"

She closed her mouth, thinking. 

Merlin’s eyes widened. He moved his arm away from his chest, leaning away from Snow White.

"...Snot?” He uttered in pure disbelief. “Your parents named you Snot?"

Snow White’s head snapped to his direction.

"No!" 

Merlin sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness.” He placed his hand under his chin. “It's a nickname then?" 

"No, it's nothing,” Snow White said. 

Giving your real name to a demon was a very bad more indeed. She couldn’t just say it.

So what should she say?

She looked around and took a breath.

“My name is…Red…shoes." 

Silence, as Merlin stared at her.

"...Really?" He said.

"Yes." 

"Your REAL NAME is "Red shoes"?" 

"Yes."

He looked at her, trying to keep a smile on his face. It kept twitching, but not from anger. He narrowed his eyes and turned his head away from her, even crossing his arms. 

"You're not even wearing any,” He moved his shoulders.

Seriously, this demon talked way too much.

“What?” Snow White said.

"Red shoes!” He faced her with actual anger. But, he quickly mellowed out. “Why not do what you were named after?" 

He pointed to her beige flats, trying to make some sort of point about fashion sense. Was this really important? Snow White shook her head.

"Well,” She crossed her arms as she kept walking, “I don't see you turning into a falcon, _Merlin _."__

____

Merlin stopped, eyes curiously following his partner’s movement. Backpack and beige flats aside, she was certainly something new. Usually, everyone he met was head over heels for him. The second they laid their eyes on his fabulous appearance, they would do anything for him.

____

Not this time.

____

Merlin smiled.

____

The path under Snow White’s feet was walked into place. Many different shoes and boots stepping on grass eventually cleared it. This made a path right through the forest. 

____

Though few people used it. Vines and moss had already started taking it over.

____

It was very quiet.

____

She looked forward. There were no snapping twigs, no rustle of earth under her feet. No sounds or signs of her demonic partner.

____

She called out to him.

____

“Merlin?”

____

No response.

____

She tried again.

____

"Merlin!"

____

But still no answer.

____

Was she left alone? Could the magician just disappear? He was powerful, maybe he decided to call it quits. He already got his freedom.

____

Snow White looked around, trying to catch sight of him to no avail. If he left, why wouldn't she hear him? Surely him moving would have made noise?

____

Expect if he didn’t touch the ground.

____

But how could he not?

____

Suddenly, she spotted a falcon. Sitting on a branch of a tree, preening its feathers like it wasn’t able to kill small mammals. The light traveled on its feathers like a light show.

____

Snow White raised her arm in front of her. How to call a trained bird of prey. A falconer trick. She didn’t know a falconer, nor had she seen any. Yet this felt correct.

____

The falcon turned to look. Its black eyes looked through Snow White like they knew all her secrets.

____

They didn’t.

____

It took flight and flew over to her with a mighty flap of its wings. It landed on her arm, not digging its claws into her skin. Almost vary of doing so, as if it knew it’d hurt her.

____

Snow White blinked.

____

“Hello, birdy.”

____

She carefully moved her hand close. Even though she shouldn't. Falcons were omnivores, and their beaks were quite sharp. 

____

Still, she started scratching its neck with her fingers. The feathers felt soft and fluffy. A sturdy bird.

____

Very lovely for a wild one.

____

There was no way it was wild. It was too friendly. Perhaps it had escaped? Gotten lost?

____

Snow White scratched its head with her finger. The falcon closed its eyes.

____

“Oh, that’s good," It said.

____

Snow White stopped.

____

Well.

____

The falcon just talked.

____

Snow White pulled her hand away from the bird. It was alarming to find a talking bird in a forest full of not talking ones.

____

Wait.

____

This was no normal bird. 

____

A bird wouldn't know to be careful with their claws. Even falconer's used special gloves to not be hurt by their hunting companion’s talons. 

____

Its markings were too distinct, reminding her of the new mark on her wrist. 

____

“...Merlin?” She asked.

____

The falcon flapped its wings and preened the feathers on its stomach.

____

“Yes, Red shoes?” It said.

____

She stared at the magician, who was now somehow not as humanoid as before. He wasn’t humanoid at all, he was a bird!

____

She blinked.

____

“You’re a...”

____

“Merlin, yes!” He raised his falcon head in her direction. “See, my name fits.”

____

He moved his now bird feet, careful not to scratch Snow White. He sighed.

____

“It’s been a while. I’m getting sore already.”

____

Snow White just looked at him, mesmerized. She scratched his little falcon head. 

____

Very soft.

____

Falcon Merlin let her touch, surprisingly enjoying it. Guess it really was a good spot to scratch.

____

Snow White stopped and looked straight at him.

____

“You can still talk, even like this?”

____

He turned him, looking at how different of a form this was. The only tell of the falcon being anything but normal was it's coloring, which she now checked if it matched the mark on her wrist.

____

Falcon Merlin proudly moved his feathers.

____

“Of course!”

____

Great. Exactly what she needed. Now their partnership looked more like a storybook pirate captain and their parrot. Or an explorer with a winged companion.

____

Snow White sighed.

____

“You can get off now.”

____

Merlin shook his feathers and stood more comfortably.

____

“I don’t want to. This is nice.”

____

Snow White just looked at him.

____

“It is?”

____

The falcon nodded at her, looking quite pleased with his new spot. Snow White couldn’t help but see the bird as a different being than the magician, which made her brain hurt. Thinking that this literal merlin and the demonic Merlin were one and the same was already enough for her to want to call this deal quits.

____

But her father was still missing.

____

And she was going to find him.

____

“Well, maybe it’s best if you stay like this,” she said.

____

“I need to go to town. People will question it less if I return with a falcon than a magician...demon...person.”

____

Merlin looked at her. His bird eyes narrowed.

____

“Just call me Merlin.”

____

Okay. Snow White smiled. This bird form made the demon’s ego seem easier to handle.

____

She raised him closer to her face.

____

“Merlin, my arm is getting really tired so if you want to stay, you can, um...”

____

She lifted her arm closer to her right shoulder.

____

“Go on my shoulder.”

____

The falcon raised one of his legs. Snow white stopped him.

____

“One condition, though.” 

____

Merlin faced her with a curious look.

____

“Please,” she said. “Don’t talk as much.”

____

The falcon hopped on her shoulder.

____

“Noted. Will do. You got it, Red shoes.”

____

She turned her head.

____

“Merlin.”

____

“Right, sorry." The falcon stepped away from her face. "Quieting down now.”

____

Merlin positioned himself better on her shoulder. He fluffed his feathers. Snow looked at her hands to take a hold of her backpack again.

____

Next stop, Golden Goose Avenue.

____


	3. Chapter 3

Soft fabrics. 

Warm feeling.

… Where was he? 

Merlin's eyes glowed yellow.

The painted walls gave no hints. Neither did the bed or the sheets he was wrapped in.

Where was he?

Unfamiliar walls with unfamiliar scents. Sunlight trickled into the room through curtains. Green wallpaper decorated with symbols of cross-like markings. An old scent of wood. A darkness dripped from his fingers like he was part of the night. It traveled up his arm in swirls, coloring them. 

Confused. Scared.

Enraged. 

A soft voice broke his silence.

"What's going on with you?"

Merlin's head snapped towards the voice. A woman in a white and red dress. Brown hair. 

Who was she?

Marks of lighting set off, gleaming blue. His hands, as if dipped in black, seemed longer. His nails, more sharp. The mark of lighting Snow had on her wrist was plastered all over Merlin's body.

She took a breath.

"Merlin, remember?" She pointed to herself. "I freed you."

A glow of yellow from the eyes of the demon, wondering whether to trust those words.

"...Freed...me…"

His nails dug into the fabrics of the bed. Merlin hissed at Snow White.

"We left to travel town." Snow continued. Maybe explaining it could help? "We're in Golden Goose. Remember?"

Her voice was soft, trying not to patronize the demon. He was afraid. What else could she do? 

"Do you remember me?"

She moved her arm closer.

"It's me… Red shoes."

A deep breath. Calm your heart, calm your mind, she chanted in her thoughts. Slowly, she reached her arm closer to the lighting-lined abyss. A demon was dangerous on its own, but this one was leashed. They had a deal.

Merlin sniffed her hand like a curious dog, although more shy.

"... Red shoes…" He murmured.

He blinked, as if he had just woken up. Still trying to tell reality from dream. Merlin the wizard, the demon, no longer covered in dark, looked rather sleepy. Dozing off wouldn’t make any sense after such a good night’s sleep.

“Excuse me. I’m… sorry. About… that.” He ruffled his hair in slowly.

His gaze travelled down to his hands. The stains remained. Darkness, like ink, still splashed on his hands. The color of midnight. Merlin blew out a puff of air, rubbing his hands together.

“Let me just…”

He breathed, more relaxed. Merlin closed his eyes. Slowly, slowly, the darkness retreated, the shade of midnight began to fade. Snow watched the darkness on his skin disappear under his coat's cuffs.

What was that? 

Merlin bobbed his head. Had he not slept well after all?

"Now, where are we off to?" He said, more coherent. At least he was finally truly awake.

Worry shined in Snow White's eyes, but she still turned her head away. The demon avoided the subject of sudden and scary transformations. Maybe prying into it the first thing in the morning wasn't a good idea. She brushed her hair with her hand.

"We're off to… the town square." Snow White sighed. "… You should turn into a bird again." 

"What?" Merlin squawked. Even without his feathery form, he sounded bird-like. "Why can't I just be like this?" 

"Well, I didn't bring a strange man into my room yesterday."

"... Good point."

Leaving the inn was rather easy. Snow White played Merlin’s bird form off as a pet, and no one gave them a second look. Surprising, to say the least. Merlin eyed the surroundings. Humans still seemed like humans. The world was still slow. There didn’t seem to be much difference between his time and this, which was odd.

The town square was mainly a fountain in the middle of lots of open space. Meant for a market to take place. Near the fountain stood a statue, both proud and cold in gaze. Overlooked by the sculpted stone, Snow White rested her backpack on a stone bench. She stuck her hand within the red inside, pulling out a package. A piece of bread was her treasure of the day. She offered Merlin a piece. 

“Red shoes, are you seriously giving me breadcrumbs to eat?”

"It's breakfast." She smiled.

She bit into the wheat-filled piece, leaving it to hang in her mouth as she kept digging through her backpack.

"... Fine.” Merlin ruffled his feathers. “But If I was actually a merlin, I would not be satisfied. I’m a hawk, not a pigeon."

Snow White pulled a book out from the hold of her bag. The pages seemed yellowed, even though it looked brand new otherwise. Merlin leaned closer.

"What's this?"

Snow took the bread into her free right hand. Munching.

"A journal, a map, it's all in one." She flipped through a couple pages. "I suppose you could call it a scrapbook."

Merlin tilted his feathery head. Trying to wrap it around a concept he was unfamiliar with was easy, but that didn’t mean they didn’t baffle him.

"Scrap...book?" He repeated to himself.

Snow took another bite of her bread. Focusing, yet not really. His voice coming from the beak of a bird was still throwing Snow White for a loop, but not as much as yesterday. Besides, it fit well. Talking birds weren’t really a fantastical concept. Birds engaging in this level of conversation, however? Rare. Talking to a demon wizard now turned bird should have been surprising, but it felt normal. Had she already gotten used to his presence?

She brought her mind back into the conversation.

"It's every piece of info I have. A way, a plan, to find my father."

Merlin tilted his head the other way.

"You sure are efficient…"

The pictures, notes, everything. Snow White’s writing looked lovely. Most of the drawings were avant garde, and Merlin did not understand what they meant. Maybe they were meant to be artistic renditions more than extremely accurate.

The surrounding town was filled with people. Some walked by, but once again too focused in their own lives to realize that a woman’s companion Merlin was in fact talking and answering to her in perfect English. Really, they should have just looked closer.

"I actually would like to know how you learned about me," Merlin crowed. He pet his feathers with his beak, cleaning his wing. He moved his head, calling for his companion’s attention. Curiosity was a lot for humans, but for demons it was even worse.

“I was stuck in that rock for who knows how long,” he continued, “And you said that no one remembers what I did.”

His eyes opened wider, the eyes of a bird now so close to feelings of humans.

"So how do you?"

Snow White stared at him. She couldn’t fall silent, as she had not spoken in a while. A deep breath inhaled deep into her lungs for calmness and an explanation.

"I don’t. At least, I didn’t at first.”

She grabbed the edge of her scrapbook harsher.

“It was more of an accident," she bit into the bread again, "I learned about you because of wind."

Merlin leaned closer. His eyes narrowed. If he had eyebrows as a bird, he would raise one of them.

"... Wind?"

"I was reading a book on magical creatures." She cleaned her face with a napkin. "The wind blew on the pages and I found the myth about you." 

A ruffle of feathers as Merlin moved his wings. Interest caused him to become more animated.

"I'm in a book?"

"Not really.” Snow stopped his excitement. “A caricature is."

She pointed to the open page. On it, a cleanly cut paper, a page of another book.

"The way the myth characterizes you and makes you look is this evil step-mother character."

"What? You can't be serious."

"Stories change when given enough time."

Merlin froze. He had observed his surroundings, but didn’t even think of certain possibilities.

"... Wait. How… long… has it been?" 

Snow looked up, counting in her head.

"A little over two hundred years, at least."

"Two hundred?! But… I thought-"

"Time feels distorted to you, I think.” She ate the bread. “Stewing in your own emotions, trapped in your mind. Of course it gets hard to keep track of days." 

Merlin looked at the statue next to them. Two hundred years? Less than a thousand, but still. How had he not completely lost his mind in that rock?

The statue looks into the distance.

A cape, hair curled up.

A gust of wind passed through the duo, causing the scrapbook to flare. Snow White kept a hold of it, pinning the pages down with her hand. Under the page that was cleanly cut, rhymes and runes scribbled underneath. A part of the next page of the book Snow White had gotten it from. Merlin leaned closer, trying to see the flowery font better. Inking mystical runes must have been a nightmare for the original writer. He flapped down from Snow White’s shoulder to the stone bench, hopping to the book.

“Let me see that,” he said, already picking at the page with his beak. Snow White obliged, taking a hold of the piece of paper. She removed it from the book.

“I thought you didn’t like how they portrayed you?”

Merlin pecked the page. Leaving a small dent without breaking through the paper itself, he flipped it over with his wings. The runes weren’t made up. They were actual magical symbols used in spells. Especially those meant for binding and locking up evil. Like demons. He turned his gaze to Snow White, unsure if he was surprised. She had found a way to let free a demon only by using what could be a fairytale book.

That was something. Impressive, even. Then again, a person who places actual mystical runes into a book meant for such a young audience as a bedtime story was something. Merlin kept his gaze on Snow White, who had moved her own attention to the statue next to them.

Right, the statue. The one he oh so woefully was staring at before. To be honest, it had a familiar feeling to it. The cold stone was very reminiscent of how some demons felt as if they were made of ice. But the statue wasn’t of a demon. Of course not. It portrayed the very opposite.

The wind blew once again, making the unpinned paper take flight. Snow White’s fingers were so close to touching its edge before it flew off, hitting the statue.

Merlin readied his wings for flight, only to see something blue shining on the paper. The runes activated.

The stone broke. 

A person, a man, fell on the ground. Feathery wings of white, stiff from stone, changing to grey stiffness. Shielding him. Trying to fold. Lying on the ground, unable to move, weak yet determined.

An angel. 

Gripping to the road with the little strength he still had, flesh interchangeable from rock. Heavy breaths returning to the still body. Raising its blond head up, blue eyes gleaming like ice.

Merlin's eyes widened.

"Jack?"


	4. Chapter 4

A cup, its insides steaming hot with golden liquid. A pond of warmth placed within a small vessel. Jack’s fingers traced the handle, and brought the cup of tea closer to his face.

“It’s been a while, Merlin.”

“Around three hundred years,” Merlin said back.

Jack drank from his cup of tea, not spitting it out in surprise. Savoring the taste he had not known for over two centuries. 

He was relaxed. Perhaps too much.

Jack stared into the cup, looking at his faint reflection within.

“Being stuck as a statue... how strange.”

He glanced at Merlin and Snow White before taking another sip.

Snow White had fled the scene of the magical statue, dragging Merlin with her. However, their meeting wasn’t over.

The once-statue Jack - that’s what Merlin had called him - had appeared, knocking on the door of their room.

Merlin barely stopped Snow White from attacking him in time. A quick borrow of the inn’s kettle got them all a cup of that hot, aromatic beverage.

“I kept… some level of consciousness,” Jack kept going, talking to himself more than the two others in his presence, “In and out of sleep… I heard words sometimes, other sounds… knew that I was looked at”

Another drink of tea.

“But… it’s as if…” He thought, “…it has only been a day for me.”

His wings lay rested, no longer showing in full as they did before. Snow White eyed them from time to time. The feathers like that of Merlin’s, yet bigger. They looked soft, but just touching or petting someone’s wings would be rude.

When Jack had been a statue, it obscured his features. His eyes and face, his clothing, like his belt could not be seen.

And, of course, the wings… 

Snow White thought that staring at someone seemed rude, as well.

Merlin kept looking at Jack, waiting. He was tense, but not from anger or fear. He was unsure.

Snow White realized something.

Merlin was a demon. Jack was an angel. 

For them to be friendly with each other…  
It seemed rare.

“The technical term is nephilim,” Jack had said. Not a full blooded angel. Half-human, if one can be half of anything. Maybe that’s why they got along?

Or perhaps he wanted to make himself seem more approachable and friendly by saying he was more like Snow White than Merlin.

Snow White didn’t know any other supernatural people. She didn’t really know how to react to them. Goodness, if she did, she wouldn’t have to trust Merlin at all. 

They had been companions for about 24 hours now. That was enough for her to have gotten used to his presence, at least.

Merlin played with the tea leaves in his cup. The boiling water didn’t bother him.

“How are you so okay with this?” He leaned his head on his palm, eyeing Jack.

“What, the time?” Jack responded, not returning the gaze. “I suppose I’m shocked.”

For someone claiming that three hundred seemed more like a day, he seemed calm. Something already recognized, but it was disturbing. How is he not afraid?

Perhaps he was one of those individuals that could keep a cool head, no matter what situation they were in.

Jack looked back at Snow White. She realized that she had zoned out while staring at his face. He seemed more curious than offended and even gave her a smile.  


It disappeared fast as he turned back to face Merlin as well.

“Catching up aside.” He places the cup down on the table. “There is something we need to discuss.”

Snow White became tense. The only reason she even let Jack stay was because she wanted to help him. Nowadays, she tries to maintain a colder exterior, when dealing with beings with magic powers.

But she was still kind. Just like King White. Her father always told her to be kind to others. No matter what they looked like or who they were. Expect if they were going to hurt her, of course.

Merlin knew Jack. That meant Jack could be evil. She wasn’t sure how to act towards him.

Merlin was a criminal, so any connection to others could mean criminal relations.

Others...

“Where are the others?” Merlin had left his teacup alone. “Hans? Arthur? The triplets?” 

A list of names Snow White didn’t know. The story she used to find Merlin with wasn’t quite accurate, and the characters’ names were lost to time.

Jack rested both of his hands down.

“Let’s just say you weren’t the only one who got punished for their crimes.” 

Merlin's eyes gleamed yellow, that color of a threatened beast.

“What do you mean?”

He was on guard. Would he attack? Jack answered the gaze without a glow, but the feeling was similar. 

“What happened to you and me can’t be that different from their fates.” 

Snow White stared at this. Not sure what to make of his companion and an almost stranger in her inn room. Wanting to move away, to not stay close to them stirred in her chest. Still, she wasn’t someone so easily intimidated.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself.

“You think so?” 

She looked at Jack, trying to stop that fear from getting worse.

He didn’t move and kept staring forward.

“It’s a theory,” He sighed, “but if Merlin and I are okay, then they should be as well.”

The defensive gleam in Merlin’s eyes became less and less visible. He made his pose more comfortable, leaning.

“So what should we do?”

“Simple,” Jack said, “If we look for them, we will find them.”

Snow White stood up. Jack and Merlin both shifted their attention to her. The fear in her had evaporated.

“Why would I help you regain a team of magical criminals?”

Jack tapped his cup. “Criminal is a strong word.”

“But she does have a point.” Merlin leaned on the table like a cat. 

“I’m sure a human would only trust a demon if they were sure they could keep it from devouring their soul immediately.”

Snow White narrowed her eyes.

Kind or not, this sounded like putting herself in more danger.

She had a deal with Merlin, but what about Jack? Nothing was keeping him from stabbing her in the back.

The most important thing to her was to find her father. And she couldn’t do that if she was dead.

Jack coughed to get Snow White’s attention, interrupting her thought process.

“I don’t have anywhere to go, so I need to tag along with you.”

“What?” She glanced at Merlin. “Having a sudden pet bird is already enough.”

Merlin lowered his brows.

“Pet?”

A chuckle came from Jack at the humorous occasion. He pressed his left hand on his chest as if to make an announcement. 

“You don’t have to worry about me being here.” 

He lowered his right hand to his belt, not breaking eye contact with the duo.

“After all...” He pulled something off his belt, a cloth that makes the world shine through it, like it wasn’t there at all. It’s almost as if Jack was miming, yet he clearly held something in his hand.

He wrapped the cloth around his shoulders. A cape? Putting the hood on himself, he disappeared from view. Snow White stepped back.

From where Jack once stood, short laughter.

“You won’t even notice I’m here.”

**Author's Note:**

> Day 7: Curse of @redshoesmonth2020's (tumblr) Red shoes prompt month.


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